What Polkaswap set out to do
Polkaswap launched as a decentralized exchange on the SORA chain, built with Substrate, making it native to the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. The idea was simple and bold: enable seamless swaps across chains without intermediaries or gatekeepers. Swap XOR like ETH, no accounts, no barriers.
How it works now
In practice, Polkaswap functions as a smart liquidity router. It sources liquidity from pools and bridges. Assets like PSWAP, XOR, stablecoins and others are tradable, but volumes are tiny. Current TVL sits under $40,000, and daily trading averages around $27,000 - very low by DEX standards.
Token and incentives
PSWAP wasn't distributed through an ICO. Instead, it's minted for liquidity providers, market makers and bonding activities. The model involves farming, fees, burns and minting cycles to reward usage. With such low participation, however, incentives remain largely theoretical.
Ecosystem status
Polkaswap continues quietly within the SORA network. Bridges exist to Polkadot, Ethereum and potentially Bitcoin. It promotes interoperability and low-cost AMM trades, but adoption hasn't followed. Social activity is muted, and most traders are unaware it exists.
Strengths & weaknesses at a glance
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Final word
Polkaswap embodies the vision of an interoperable DEX native to Polkadot. It has routing, bridges and incentive cycles designed for smooth multi-chain trading. But the reality shows minimal adoption, low liquidity and limited awareness. It feels like a prototype of what could be rather than what is.
For those watching Polkadot's ecosystem, it's worth tracking. But for traders needing volume and reliability, Polkaswap remains a quiet infrastructure piece still waiting for relevance.